Grilled Lamb Chops with Cabbage and Mango Hot Sauce

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

Grilled lamb chops are fast and easy to cook, and this marinade helps the meat caramelize while packing a ton of punch. Kuchela is a Trinidadian condiment made from green mangos, spices and chilis. You can marinate the lamb and make the cabbage and hot sauce ahead of time, and it all gets better as it hangs out for a few hours. For the best Caribbean ingredients I shop at Tropical Foods in Roxbury. As a lover of spices and condiments, this is my favorite grocery store in Boston.

Serves 4

FOR THE MARINADE:
¼ cup green mango kuchela (a Trinidadian jarred condiment, easy to find at Tropical Foods)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced serrano chili
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

FOR THE LAMB:
8 medium-sized lamb chops
½ cup chopped peanuts
2 sour oranges, cut into quarters

MARINATED CABBAGE:
½ red cabbage, very thinly sliced across the grain, around 6–7 cups
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
½ English cucumber, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons distilled vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon dried oregano
juice of 1 lime

MANGO HOT SAUCE
(Makes 1 pint)
2 cups peeled, cubed mango
½ orange habanero chili, stem removed (or the whole thing if you like it spicy)
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon salt

FOR THE MARINADE:
Purée all the marinade ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

FOR THE LAMB:
Season the lamb lightly with salt and coat each chop with the marinade. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour (or place in the fridge for at least 2 hours; bring to room temperature before proceeding).

Grill the lamb over high heat, 2–3 minutes per side until an instant-read thermometer registers 125° for just between rare and medium rare.

FOR THE CABBAGE:
Mix all the ingredients together. Leave out at room temperature to marinate for an hour.

FOR THE HOT SAUCE:
Purée all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Keep any leftover sauce in a jar in the fridge, up to two weeks. Use on tacos or anywhere you’d use a chili sauce.

Serve grilled lamb chops with the Marinated Cabbage and Mango Hot Sauce; sprinkle with chopped peanuts and sour orange juice at the table.

NOTE: If you cannot find sour oranges, mix the juice of 1 orange with the juice of 1 lime. If you cannot find the mango kuchela, use tamarind paste instead.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2025 issue as part of a larger story, “In the Edible Kitchen: Spring Lamb.”